Truro Cathedral Choir Spring Concert, 6pm, Saturday 22nd March 2014

PROGRAMME

For lo, I raise up – Charles Villiers Stanford (1852 – 1924)

Peace (from ‘1914’) – Alan Gray (1855 – 1935)

Christmas Truce – Graham Fitkin (b 1963)

Lord, let me know mine end (from ‘Songs of Farewell’) – Hubert Parry (1848 – 1918)

Lord, thou hast been our refuge – Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 – 1958)

Semi-chorus: Harry Flint and William Thomas (treble);

Paul-Ethan Bright (alto); Horatio Carr-Jones (tenor); Charlie Murray (bass)

INTERVAL

Organ solo:

 Psalm Prelude, Set 1, no 1 – Herbert Howells (1892 – 1983)

Luke Bond (organ)

Requiem – Gabriel Fauré (1845 – 1924)

1 Introit et Kyrie

2 Offertoire

Soloist: David Risberg (bass)

3 Sanctus

4 Pie Jesu

5 Agnus Dei et Lux aeterna

6 Libera me

Soloist: Charlie Murray (bass)

7 In Paradisum

WORDS AND PROGRAMME NOTES

Composed by Stanford in 1914, ‘For lo, I raise up’ is easily one of the most vital and dramatic anthems in the Anglican repertoire, setting passages from the first book of the prophet Habakkuk. Habakkuk himself is almost a mystery figure in the Bible, and is a stand-out amongst all the prophets, as he is the only one to openly question the wisdom of God. Rabbinical tradition holds that he fled the sacking of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans, but returned to Judea and even found himself at God's service in aiding the prophet Daniel in the Lion's den, by feeding him a delicious stew. 

The organ accompaniment is as much a part of the drama as the voices, with a characteristic upward sweeping semiquaver motif that opens the piece while altos, tenors and basses enter in unison. Their tune is answered by the trebles, who suddenly leap high in their range, helping them stand out from the organ. This tumultuous character is as much a response to the text as it is Stanford's own reaction to the outbreak of the war. At the words “Art not thou from everlasting?”, the prophet seeks to communicate his unwavering belief in God.

The texture becomes busier with the words “For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord”; the semiquaver figures return in the organ part, but this time rather than echo the violence of the opening verses, they represent the fulfilment of Habakkuk's petition to the Lord. The anthem could not end more different to how it began, with absolute stillness as the Lord God takes his place in the temple and “all the earth keep silence before him”. 

It is impossible to overlook the imperialistic overtones of the text, especially in relation to the date of composition. In 1914 Britain, it would be almost impossible not to think of the central powers of Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, “who march through the breadth of the earth to possess the dwelling places that are not theirs”. It is perhaps a noteworthy coincidence that the German Empire's Coat of Arms is the Eagle, which “hasteth to devour”.

For lo I raise up that bitter and hasty nation,
which march through the breadth of the earth,
to possess the dwelling places that are not theirs.
They are terrible and dreadful,
their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves.
Their horses also are swifter than leopards,
and are more fierce than the evening wolves,
and their horsemen spread themselves,
yea, their horsemen come from far.
They fly as an eagle that hasteth to devour,
they come all of them for violence;
their faces are set as the east wind,
and they gather captives as the sand.
Yea, he scoffeth at kings and princes are a derision unto him
for he heapeth up dust and taketh it.
Then shall he sweep by as a wind that shall pass over,

and be guilty, even he whose might is his God.

Art not thou from everlasting,
O Lord my God, mine Holy One?
We shall not die.
O Lord, thou hast ordained him for judgment
and thou, O Rock, hast established him for correction

I will stand upon my watch and set me upon the tower
and look forth to see what he will say to me
and what I shall answer concerning my complaint.

And the Lord answered me and said,
The vision is yet for the appointed time,
and it hasteth toward the end and shall not lie
though it tarry, wait for it, because it will surely come.

For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge
of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

But the Lord is in his holy temple:
let all the earth keep silence before Him.

Words: Habakkuk 1: 6-12; 2: 1-3, 14, 20, adapted

With music by Alan Gray, ‘1914’ is a setting of the first, third and fifth war sonnets by Rupert Brooke.  The cycle was published in January 1915, and was composed of sonnets detailing the idealised life, accomplishments and death of a soldier. Brooke himself died on 23^rd April 1915, having contracted a fatal sepsis from an infected mosquito bite while stationed with the British Mediterranean Expeditionary Force in the Aegean sea, just two days before the Battle of Gallipoli started.  

Compared to the other items in tonight’s programme, ‘Peace’ (the first movement of ‘1914’) is positively cheerful. Rather than the armies who “come all of them for violence” in ‘For lo, I raise up’, or the more introspective feel of the later items, ‘Peace’ sees the soldier as a kind of heroic, happy warrior. Rupert Brooke’s poem comes from these earliest days, when the War was seen as a kind of adventure, with recruits and Army officials alike expecting hostilities would be over by Christmas. 

The last line of the first section, “And all the little emptiness of love!” may reference Brooke's own emotional dissatisfaction, having recently ended an unhappy love affair, that signing up was an escape. Moving on, the feeling of thanks continues, and a sense that fighting is a way into heaven; there is no reason to find upset as all are fighting for a worthy cause, that even though you may be afflicted by pain, “that has ending”. 

The music comes from 1915 and is old-fashioned for that time, rooted in the late Victorian and Edwardian styles rather than in a more progressive twentieth century idiom. The texture is given over to the treble line having a tune and being supported by men’s voices, with an organ accompaniment that is more reminiscent of a Music Hall than a solemn Cathedral setting.

Now, God be thanked Who has matched us with His hour,

And caught our youth, and wakened us from sleeping,

With hand made sure, clear eye, and sharpened power,

To turn, as swimmers into cleanness leaping,

Glad from a world grown old and cold and weary,

Leave the sick hearts that honour could not move,

And half-men, and their dirty songs and dreary,

And all the little emptiness of love!

Oh! we, who have known shame, we have found release there,

Where there’s no ill, no grief, but sleep has mending,

Naught broken save this body, lost but breath;

Nothing to shake the laughing heart’s long peace there

But only agony, and that has ending;

And the worst friend and enemy is but Death.

Words: Rupert Brooke

The next item is a setting of the poem “A carol from Flanders” by Frederick Niven (1878-1944), which recounts the spontaneous Christmas truce that occurred on the Western Front in 1914. Unlike the other items in this first half of the programme, ‘Christmas Truce’ is not from the time of the War at all, but was commissioned by Truro Cathedral for the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols in December 2011.

The text is a précis of the events that probably took place on Christmas Eve 1914, without tying it down to just one place. Almost six months into the war, the battles of attrition had not only taken their toll on the opposing armies but also the land itself, with the infamous “No Man's Land” standing between miles of barbed wire trenches. Stories that seem fantastic with historical hindsight abound, and have taken on a mythic status.  Tales of men waving flags, singing carols to each other, playing football and exchanging gifts, stories of home and sharing packets of cigarettes that took place were reported to senior officers on both sides, who quickly ordered that the men resume shooting at each other. 

Composer Graham Fitkin creates an uncertain atmosphere from the start, with trebles alone singing a plaintive tune over harmonies sung by the alto, without being grounded by the lower tenor and bass voices. The line “Not all the Kings and financiers, and they who rule us could prevent these things” is a direct reference to the orders issued to restart the fighting (orders which were ignored in certain isolated pockets).

A striking feature of the music is that “Christmas Day” returns at the end of each verse, almost reassuringly, as if the fact that it is Christmas Day means miracles can happen. The piece ends with “Christmas Day” being repeated in glorious, lush harmonies, suggesting that perhaps every day could indeed be Christmas Day. But in the final bars, the words are left hanging on a dissonant chord cluster, loaded with uncertainty and anguish. Like the cease fire itself, the happy music must give way to reality.

In Flanders on Christmas morn
The trenched foeman lay,
The German and the Briton born,
And it was Christmas Day.

The red sun rose on fields accurst,
The grey fog fled away;
But neither cared to fire first,
For it was Christmas Day!

They called out from each to each

Across the disarray,
For dreadful had been their loss:
"Oh, this is Christmas Day!"

Their rifles set aside,
One impulse to obey;
'Twas just the men on either side,
Just men — and Christmas Day.

They dug graves for all their dead
And over them did pray:
And Englishmen and Germans said:
"How strange a Christmas Day!"

Between the trenches then they met,
Shook hands, and e'en did play
At games on which their hearts were set
On happy Christmas Day.

Not all the kings
And financiers and they
Who rule us could prevent these things —
For it was Christmas Day.

Oh ye who read this truthful rime
From Flanders, kneel and say:
God speed the time when every day
Shall be Christmas Day.

Words:  Frederick Niven

The ‘Songs of Farewell’ can be counted amongst the greatest works by Hubert Parry, perhaps best remembered today for his hymn tune ‘Jerusalem’ and his anthem ‘I was glad’.

When he retired in 1908 at the age of sixty, Parry had a great output of symphonic works as well as oratorios and secular songs. In 1895 he became the head of the Royal College of Music, and from 1900 to 1908 concurrently held the post of Professor of Composition at Oxford University.

Although Parry did not serve in the War, he was distraught to see so many young men, both former pupils and contemporaries, go out to the Front and never return. His inner turmoil was compounded by his love of German music and culture.

‘Lord, let me know mine end’ is the final song in the set of six composed at the very end of Parry’s life. The words come from Psalm 39 and deal with the nature of life and death. The Psalmist asks God to tell him when he is going to die (“Lord, let me know mine end”). He reflects on the fact that worldly possessions count for nothing when a person dies (“He heapeth up riches and cannot tell who shall gather them”). On the one hand, he puts his trust calmly in God (“truly my hope is even in thee”) but, on the other, cries out to God in his illness and discomfort, which he knows that only the Lord can deliver him from. (“Take thy plague away from me, I am even consumed by means of thy heavy hand”). Towards the end of the psalm, he accepts that mortal life is only temporary, “for I am a stranger with thee and a sojourner as all my fathers were”, acknowledging that his life is as short, and is just as frail in the face of God as all the generations that have been before.  Finally, he asks that he might be delivered from his suffering and face his end with dignity before he dies: “O spare me a little, that I may recover my strength before I go hence and be no more seen.”

As well as the inescapable influence of the War, it is surely no coincidence that Parry did “go hence and be no more seen” shortly after finishing this piece of music (the ‘Songs of Farewell’ date from 1916-1918 and Parry died in 1918). Perhaps ‘Lord, let me know mine end’ was a personal prayer from someone who knew his days were numbered and, when his time came, wanted to die without suffering.

Lord, let me know mine end and the number of my days,
That I may be certified how long I have to live.
Thou hast made my days as it were a span long;
And mine age is as nothing in respect of Thee,
And verily, ev'ry man living is altogether vanity,
For man walketh in a vain shadow
And disquieteth himself in vain,
He heapeth up riches and cannot tell who shall gather them.
And now, Lord, what is my hope?
Truly my hope is even in Thee.
Deliver me from all mine offences
And make me not a rebuke to the foolish.
I became dumb and opened not my mouth
For it was Thy doing.
Take Thy plague away from me,
I am even consumed by means of Thy heavy hand.
When Thou with rebukes does chasten man for sin
Thou makest his beauty to consume away
Like as it were a moth fretting a garment;
Ev'ry man therefore is but vanity.
Hear my pray'r, O Lord
And with Thy ears consider my calling,
Hold not Thy peace at my tears!
For I am a stranger with Thee and a sojourner
As all my fathers were.
O spare me a little, that I may recover my strength before I go hence
And be no more seen.

Words: Psalm 39.5-15

One of Parry’s pupils at the Royal College of Music was Ralph Vaughan Williams who composed his anthem Lord, thou hast been our refuge in 1921, just three years after the War ended. Perhaps uniquely, Vaughan Williams sets two versions of the same text simultaneously. He sets words from Psalm 90 and also the hymn by Isaac Watts “O God, our help in ages past” which is based on Psalm 90.

The semi-chorus opens with an original tune before being joined by the full choir which sings the hymn tune 'St Anne', very slowly indeed. The hymn tune ‘St Anne’ was composed by William Croft in 1708 when he was the organist of the parish church of St Anne, Soho. It has remained popular to this day and is frequently sung at Remembrance services.

The all-powerful, unchanging God described in the opening verses is contrasted with the weak, mortal human condition described from verse 5, “As soon as thou scatterest them”. Mankind’s frailty is compared to the grass: “In the morning it is green and growth up, but in the evening it is cut down, dried up and withered”.

The organ finally enters, with an interlude that has the ‘St Anne’ hymn tune buried deep within. This builds to a climax at which the full choir enters, loudly declaiming the opening words of Psalm 90 that were heard quietly, by just the semi-chorus, at the start. The slow hymn tune is now stated in the organ, with the tune soloed out. Fragments of the ‘St Anne’ hymn tune come through as the “glorious majesty of the Lord” is extolled.

Lord, thou hast been our refuge from one generation to another.

Before the mountains were brought forth

or ever the earth and the world were made,

Thou art God from everlasting and world without end.

Thou turnest man to destruction; again Thou sayest:

Come again, ye children of men.

For a thousand years in Thy sight are

but as yesterday; seeing that is past as a watch in the night.

O God our help in ages past,

Our hope for years to come.

Our shelter from the stormy blast,

And our eternal home.

As soon as thou scatterest them, they are even as asleep,

and fade away suddenly like the grass.

In the morning it is green and groweth up,

but in the evening it is cut down, dried up and withered.

For we consume away in thy displeasure,

and are afraid at thy wrathful indignation.

For when thou art angry, all our days are gone,

we bring our years to an end, as a tale that is told.

The days of our age are threescore years and ten:

and though men be so strong that they come to fourscore years,

yet is their strength then but labour and sorrow.

So passeth it away, and we are gone.

Turn thee again, O Lord, at the last.

Be gracious unto thy servants.

O satisfy us with thy mercy, and that soon.

So shall we rejoice and be glad all the days of our life.

Lord, thou hast been our refuge from one generation to another.

Before the mountains were brought forth

or ever the earth and the world were made,

Thou art God from everlasting and world without end.

And the glorious Majesty of the Lord be upon us.

Prosper Thou, O prosper Thou the work of our hands upon us.

O prosper Thou our handy work.

Words: Psalm 90 and Isaac Watts

INTERVAL

Amongst his works for organ, the first set of “Psalm-Preludes” make up Herbert Howells' Opus 32, and this first prelude from the set dates from 1915. Rather than being a formal prelude based on a pre-existing tune, like the chorale preludes of Bach or the hymn preludes by Parry, these pieces are more evocative meditations on specific verses of a particular psalm. This particular psalm-prelude is dedicated to Sir Walter Parratt, under whom Howells studied at the Royal College of Music.

The piece is based on Psalm 34, verse 6: “Lo, the poor crieth, and the Lord heareth him: yea and saveth him out of all of his troubles”. The general form of the prelude follows what would become a characteristic technique of starting quietly and building to a huge central climax, before gradually falling back in both texture and dynamic. The melancholy tune at the outset is the foundation of the entire prelude. It is in a minor key, with Howells' characteristic use of modal harmony to keep the harmonic movement flowing, and the use of the full range of expression available to the instrument makes this prelude a particularly effective composition. 

Looking at the verse provided, we can draw parallels to how the piece develops: the way the simplicity of the tune gradually builds in dynamic to the climactic arrival of the Lord, to the hushed yet hopeful ending in D major, where the poor has been delivered from his troubles.

The Requiem by Gabriel Fauré is one of the most popular large-scale choral works in the classical repertoire, second only to Handel's ‘Messiah’. That it is held in such affection is perhaps down to Fauré's attractive melodies, the timeless simplicity of the style, and the effectiveness of the organ accompaniment (reduced from the orchestral score).

Fauré began work on the Requiem in 1887, making it contemporary with the construction of Truro Cathedral. He was more than familiar with liturgical texts, as deputy for thirteen years to both Saint-Saëns and Dubois in their roles as principal organists at an important Parisian church, La Madaleine.

Originally consisting of five movements for an ensemble of SATB choir, organ, violas, cellos and basses, harp and timpani in 1888, it was premièred on 16^th January at the funeral of the architect Joseph Le Soufrache, under Fauré's direction. At this time, La Madaleine had a choir of men and boys, and a treble sang the now famous Pie Jesu, a tradition carried on in English cathedrals to this day. In 1889, the Offertoire was added, including the baritone solo beginning at “Hostias”. In 1890, he further added to the work by including the Libera me, which was originally a stand-alone composition for baritone and organ, written in 1877, and which completes the Requiem as we recognise it today. By the time it was performed in 1893, it had been reorchestrated, and parts for horn, trombone, bassoon and violin were added to the existing score.

The next major revision took place in 1900, when the instrumentation was further developed into a large, symphonic orchestra to cater for the concert tastes of the time. While grander orchestral in scale, this new arrangement added no new material – the new wind parts for flute, oboe and clarinet merely doubled existing lines. Through all these arrangements and additions the organ part has managed to survive unchanged. Even an instrument of modest resources is able to accompany the Requiem satisfactorily, the instrumental parts of the original 1888 version adding depth of tone and expression rather than any truly unique material. The expanded orchestral arrangement of the Requiem was performed at Fauré's own funeral in November of 1924, the 90^th anniversary of which will fall later this year. 

1 - Introit ‑ Kyrie

Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine: et lux perpetua luceat eis.

Te decet hymnus, Deus in Sion: et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem.

Exaudi orationem meam, ad te omnis caro veniet. Kyrie eleison.

Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison.

Rest eternal grant them, Lord: and let light perpetual shine upon them.

Thou, O God, art worshipped in Sion, and unto thee shall the vow be performed in Jerusalem.

Hear my prayer, all flesh shall come to thee. Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

2 - Offertorium

O Domine Jesu Christe, Rex gloriae:

libera animas defunctorum de poenis inferni, et de profundo lacu, de ore leonis,

ne absorbeat tartarus, ne cadant in obscurum.

Hostias et preces tibi Domine laudis offerimus tu suscipe pro animabus illis,

quarum hodie memoriam facimus. Fac eas, Domine, de morte transire ad vitam.

Quam olim Abrahae promisisti et semini eius. Amen.

O Lord Jesus Christ, King of glory,

free the souls of the departed from the pains of hell and from the deep waters,

from the mouth of the lion, lest hell devour them and they fall into utter darkness.

We offer to thee, Lord, sacrifices and prayers;

do thou receive them on behalf of those souls whom we remember today.

Let them, Lord, pass from death to life,

which of old thou didst promise to Abraharn and his seed. Amen.

3 - Sanctus

Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth.

Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua. Hosanna in excelsis.

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts. Heaven and earth are full of thy glory.

Hosanna in the highest.

4 - Pie Jesu

Pie Jesu Domine, dona eis requiem.

Pie Jesu Domine, dona eis sempiternam requiem.

Blessed Lord Jesus, grant them rest.

Blessed Lord Jesus, grant them eternal rest.

5 - Agnus Dei

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona els requiem.

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis sempiternam requiem.

Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine: cum sanctis tuis in aeternum, quia pius es.

Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine: et lux perpetua luceat els.

O Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,

grant them rest. O Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,

grant them eternal rest. Let light perpetual shine upon them,

with all thy saints for ever, because thou art merciful.

Rest eternal grant them, Lord: and let light perpetual shine upon them.

6 - Libera me

Libera me, Domine, de morte aeterna, in die illa tremenda:

Quando coeli movendi sunt et terra: dum veneris judicare saeculum per ignem.

Tremens factus sum ego, et timeo, dum discussio venerit, atque ventura ira.

Dies illa, dies irae, calamitatis et miseriae, dies magna et amara valde.

Deliver me, Lord, from eternal death on that dreadful day,

when the heavens and the earth shall quake,

when thou shalt come to judge the world by fire.

I tremble and am afraid for the judgement and the wrath to come.

That day of wrath, of woe and tribulation, a great day of bitter grief.

7 - In Paradisum

In Paradisum deducant angeli in tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres,

et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem. Chorus angelorum te suscipiat,

et cum Lazaro quondam paupere aeternam habeas requiem.

May the angels lead you to Paradise, may the martyrs receive you on your arrival,

and lead you into the holy city Jerusalem. May the choir of angels receive you, and,

with the former poor man Lazarus, may you have eternal rest.

Programme notes by Paul-Ethan Bright, edited by Christopher Gray